“What do you want to be written on your tombstone?”, I asked her.

This is a question I often ask people I meet – not to be too dark, but to get a perspective of long term view of their own lives from them. Most of the answers revolve around core values of people – kind, family person, love, made a difference etc etc.

So, I was completely unprepared for what Robin had to say after giving it a few seconds of thought…

“BADASS!”

I laughed out aloud. That is so Robin. Right from the days in i2 back in the ‘90s, I remember her as the ultimate change maker. A lot of those fiesty arguments of QA vs QC (in software) came flashing by immediately!!

Following that, her career has been nothing if not “Badass”. Multiple times CEO, great exits and helping the community of startups grow – those are a few of the things that have defined her.

What has absolutely not changed is her sense of gratitude towards folks who she had worked with in the past. Which is what got her to drive thru Atlanta morning traffic for an hour and have a breakfast with me! (She was in town for some business)

I felt special that she did that for me. Getting to hear her personal reflections in life was nothing short of enlightening.

But then again, I would not expect anything less from a self-styled “Badass” person, either!!

It was just the other day Shreyoshi – we called her “Munu” – was this young little girl dancing on the Durga Puja stage with other youngsters – including our own daughters – in Dallas. And her little brother would cling on to her mom – Anindita all the time crying – while Anindita taught all these young girls how to dance on the stage.

And that Shreyoshi has grown up so much today. She was in Atlanta for a BCG project. And we were able to meet her before she headed out to the airport.

It was incredibly heartening to see how mature she has become. Very well articulated and very thoughtful in her answers. And her humility was striking.

Came back home and dug up some of the pictures I had of her from yesteryears!

Hope to see this young lady on the road more number of times and learn new things about how the next generation thinks.

… two had to be better.

I took leave from the very reluctant Gangulis and headed to the hotel. And then I remembered that it was somebody else’s birthday – Deval’s mom’s!

In the morning I had asked her to make sure she wished her mom on my behalf. And asked what were the celebration plans. She told me that they were going to Big Bowl.

So, there I was at Big Bowl, hoping to spot some Gujarati ladies. In about a minute I was right there at the table with Deval, her sister Krupal, her daughter Jessie and her mom (Shaku). I needed to at least say Thank you to her for unfailingly supplying me with Gujarati snacks and savories even now when I go to office. And of course, there are those LP records of her late husband!

I could not spend more than 5 minutes but it was thrilling to spring that surprise on her!!!

This was one of those really intense weeks. Both personally and professionally. Technically, I think it is called “week from hell”.

On Tuesday, I finally finished up my stuff at office at around 6. Only because nobody else was there. And I had another 6-8 hours of work left. The idea was to go to the hotel, sit at a corner with a glass of wine and pound thru the work.

Except, I suddenly had a brainwave. It was Ranajoy’s birthday. He lived not too far from my office in Chicago. We go back to elementary school days in Durgapur in India. And while wishing him a happy birthday, I had found out he had plans to go to Maggiano’s for dinner!!

I knew that restaurant. Made a beeline for it just to spend 10-15 minutes with him and his wife, Madhumita. You should have seen the surprise on his face!!

The last time I saw them was seven and a half years back when Natasha and I were in the city.

It was so good to see them. But next time, I will keep more time so I can at least have a drink with them.